The Spirit Helps Us Pray Lesson 5

5. Categories of the Psalms "Royal" Psalms emphasize "God, as King," through the use of the phrase, " the Lord reigns ” and speak to His rule as Creator, Savior, and as "the coming One.“ The "Zion " Psalms, focus on Jerusalem, using its endearing name, " Zion ." These Psalms rhapsodize on the city, and Holy Temple as God’s place for worship. The "Penitential" Psalms, are those in which the psalmist confesses sin to the Lord, asks for forgiveness, and then praises the Lord for the renewed relationship, which God's forgiveness provides, e.g., Psalm 51. The "Wisdom" Psalms, focus on some of the same issues as the Book of Proverbs, presenting a sharp contrast, between the righteous and the wicked. The "Imprecatory" Psalms are sometimes thought to conflict with the sentiment of the Gospels, but they actually reflect God's abhorrence of evil. The “Passover" Psalms, were sung at the beginning of the Passover, and were called the "Egyptian Hallel; celebrating the great acts of the Lord, in delivering His people from Egypt and a future and final deliverance through the Jesus. The "Hallel" Psalms. These Psalms focused on the exodus from Egypt. They praise God for His character, and for His saving work.

6. The Names of God “ The Lord” (1:2) – “God of my righteousness” (4:1) – “ My King” (5:2) – “O Lord my God” (7:1) – “The Lord most High” (7:17) – “God of my salvation” (18:46) – “ God of Jacob” (20:1) – “O my strength ” (22:19) – “King of glory” (24:7,8) – “Lord of hosts” (24:10) – “God of glory” (29:3) – “O Lord God of truth” (31:5) – “The Lord God of Israel” (41:13) – “O Mighty One” (45:3) – “the King of all the earth” (47:7) – “God of Abraham” (47:9) – “God most high” (57:2) – “Yah” (68:4) – “ the Almighty” (68:14) – “God the Lord” (68:20) – “O Holy One of Israel” (71:22) – “O Shepherd of Israel” (80:1) – “the Lord our Maker” (95:6) – “God their savior” (106:21) – “the Mighty One of Jacob” (132:2) – “the God of gods” (136:2) – “the God of Heaven” (136:26)

7. Attributes of God “ a shield for me” (3:3) – “my glory” (3:3) – “the One who lifts up my head” (3:3) – “the righteous God” (7:9) – “a just judge” (7:11) – “a refuge” (9:9) – “the portion of my inheritance” (16:5) – “my strength” (18:1) – “the horn of my salvation” (18:2) – “my support” (18:18) – “my shepherd” (23:1) – “my light and my salvation” (27:1) – “the strength of my life” (27:1) – “the saving refuge of His anointed” (28:8) – “my helper” (30:10) – “rock of refuge” (31:2) – “my hiding place” (32:7) – “my help and my deliverer” (40:17) – “the God of my life” (42:8) – “my exceeding joy” (43”4) – “a very present help in trouble” (46:1) – “our guide even to death” (48:14) – “my defense” (59:9) – “my God of mercy” (59:10) – “a shelter for me” (61:3) – “a strong tower” (61:3) – “a father of the fatherless” (68:5) – “a defender of windows” (68:5) – “the strength of my heart” (73:26) – “my portion forever” (73:26) – “the great God and the great King above all gods” (95:3) – “He who keeps Israel” (121:4) – “your shield at your right hand” (121:5) – “my portion in the land of the living” (142:5) – “my high tower” (144:2)

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15. Next Week The prayers of Latter Leaders And Prophets (Chapters Five and Six) Pages 119 - 180

Notes de l'éditeur

Welcome – Opening Prayer So far we’ve journeyed in our study from the very first pray-ers of the Bible, the patriarchs, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and looked at the prayers of Moses and David. If you were to compare and contrast these three lessons, what observation can we make with respect to the “evolution” of prayer we have seen so far? (Responsive) The Patriarchs didn’t have a developed theology of any type, including prayer. They knew God, some talked with God, a few walked with Him, a few built altars but they had little understanding of God. And, of how many Christian’s today could that same thing be said? We believe in God, we may even to talk to Him on occasion, but we have little understanding of God. For many, that’s the way it’s preferred. Moses began in that same position; for him initially God was a distant idea, he had heard about God but there was no understanding. Then God called him to an incredible journey. Moses is an example of an obedient suffering servant who did all that God commanded him to do, though with some reluctance. And, this was borne out of a sense of obligation to his people, an obligation he felt even before God revealed His purpose for Moses life. But it could be said of Moses, that he did everything God required of him. And, how many Christian’s today serve God out of a sense of obligation, just like Moses did? If it were different, would there not be more prayer? With David we see a more developed understanding and another type of “man of God;” a true worshipper. When God called David, David already had a heart for God. Certainly there is a benefit to having a tradition of faith in a community. But David had a unique desire to not only please the Lord out of obedience but to be with the Lord in a close relationship. Of course David wasn’t perfect, but David knew he was forgiven and that inspired him to be closer to God even more. How should David inspire us even today to be person of who it can be said a man or women “after God’s own heart?” Is it any wonder that such a man as David was the privileged writer of many of the Psalms, which have much to teach us about prayer.
Ephesians 5:19-20 says: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is what this Lesson is about – the Book of Psalms. The Psalms have been called the Prayer Book of the Bible. (If I have one issue with Brandt and Bickel it was the scant few pages they devoted to the Psalms.) We cannot do justice to a study of Biblical Prayer, nor develop a theology of Biblical prayer, without considering the Prayer Book of the Bible. Thomas Merton, a Catholic Priest, wrote a little booked entitled “Praying the Psalms.” Listen to Merton on the significance of this Book of the Bible: “In the Psalms, we drink divine praise at its pure and stainless source, in all its primitive sincerity and perfection. We return to youthful strength and directness with which the ancient psalmist voiced their adoration of the God of Israel. Their adoration was intensified by the ineffable accents of new discovery: for the Psalms are the songs of men who knew who their God was. If we are to pray well, we too must discover the Lord to whom we speak, and if we use the Psalms in our prayers we will stand a better chance of sharing in the discovery which lies hidden in their words for all generations. For God has willed to make Himself know to us in the mystery of the Psalms.” Of course, the Prayer Book of the Bible is more than just a book of praise songs. The Psalms are filled with every human emotion but more importantly, they are filled with Christ’s own prayers. They are songs of prophecy that declare who Jesus is hundreds of years before His coming. We’ll look at that tonight.
As we know, Psalms is the longest single book in the Bible, numbering 150 individual poems and hymns to God. Here’s some background information about the Psalms. (review slide) The why of the Psalms we’ll unpack some here in this lesson. In some of the Psalms you find a heading note that reads “Of the Sons of Korah”. The Sons of Korah, were as far as we know as group of Levites that attended to the Temple worship. (refer to handout) In researching this lesson I found a contemporary worship group who call themselves by this name, “Son of Korah.” They provide a fascinating contemporary view on the Psalms for today: “ Sons of Korah believe that the psalms contain a particularly pertinent message for today. They are the supreme biblical portrayal of the spiritual life in all its facets and dynamics. They speak powerfully to a postmodern world that is generally more interested in what the biblical faith looks like from the inside than its abstract doctrinal expression . And for the church today the psalms present a compelling challenge to the often one-dimensional and romanticized spirituality that we find it so hard to move beyond. The psalms portray a rich, multifaceted and real spirituality. They speak powerfully to those who are well acquainted both with the sting of a cursed world and the sweetness of God’s love and grace in Jesus Christ.”
The Psalms were written for singing – Is singing Psalms, or for that matter the worship songs of today a form of prayer? David apparently believed so for in Psalm 42 he says: “By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.” The Psalms were written over the period of 1000 years – This was a 1000 year period that saw the deliverance of the Israelites, the giving of the law, the establishment of the tabernacle, the entering of the promised land, the emergence of a new nation, the reign of a Priestly King, the building of the Temple. All of which pointed forward to Jesus, who we meet in the Psalms. The Psalms were written in the language of the human spirit . – At times we have this idea in Churchianity, that the only acceptable emotion for Christians is happiness, a joyous glee, as we wear our Sunday masks. The Psalmist had no such false idea of the range of human emotion for God’s people; and as we’ll understand from the Psalms, neither did Jesus. The Psalms and writing of the Psalms were part of the ordinary life of the Israelites – Of course, the Israelites didn’t have cable with hundreds of channels, nor reality TV to keep them entertained. But they what they did have was the reality of God’s presence with them as He had revealed it to this point in history. The Psalms were written for different purposes – But the single basis of the various purposes of the Psalmist was and is communion and communication with God. The word “prayer” appears 25 times in the Psalms. The Psalms were written in the language of response – But not only were the Psalmist responding to God they were anticipating a response from God. As one example 44 times the word “hear” is used throughout the Psalms. We’ll look at this further.
The Psalms are broken down into different categories. Many Psalms can be categorized by their themes. For example, (review slide) the &quot;Royal&quot; Psalms emphasize &quot;God, as King,&quot; through the use of the phrase, &quot; the Lord reigns .&quot; These Psalms speak of His rule as Creator, Savior of Israel, and as &quot;the coming One.“ e.g. Psalm 93 The &quot;Zion &quot; Psalms, focus on Jerusalem, using its endearing name, &quot; Zion .&quot; These Psalms rhapsodize on the city, as God's choice for the site of the Holy Temple, the place for true worship of His name. e.g. Psalm 46 The &quot;Penitential&quot; Psalms, are those in which the psalmist confesses sin to the Lord, asks for forgiveness, and then praises the Lord for the renewed relationship, which God's forgiveness provides, e.g., Psalm 51: 1-10 The &quot;Wisdom&quot; Psalms, focus on some of the same issues, which we find in the Book of Proverbs. These Psalms present a sharp contrast, between the righteous and the wicked. They address God's blessings and cursings, and often focus on righteous living. e.g. Psalm 1 Some of the most troubling Psalms, are those that contain prayers asking God to curse the wicked. These are called the &quot;Imprecatory&quot; Psalms. To imprecate means to invoke evil upon, or curse. These Psalms are sometimes thought to conflict with the sentiment of the Gospels, but they actually reflect God's abhorrence of evil and could have only been prayed by one person – Jesus Christ. e.g. Psalm 69 In contrast, are the joyful, and prophetic &quot;Passover&quot; Psalms, Psalms 113-118. These Psalms are a remarkable celebration of the great acts of the Lord, in delivering His people from Egypt. They point forward to the deliverance that would come through the Savior, Jesus. A final group of Psalms, is clustered at the end of the book, and are called the &quot;Hallel&quot; Psalms. These Psalms focused on the exodus from Egypt. They praise God for His character, and for His saving work.
Names are important for a number of reasons; identity, family relationship, community connectedness as well as a close relationship with the Lord. When you think about the names of God and there are many used in Scripture, what are some names that come to mind? Without looking at your Bible, or your notes, take 2 minutes to jot down as names of God as you can think of. How many were you able to recall? (review) The Psalmist gives us many examples (review slide). Why do you think the Psalmist uses so many different names for God? (responsive) Steve Hawthrone, director of Waymakers and publisher of the annual “Seek God for the City” 40 day prayer booklet, as well Editor of the “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” reader, has this to say about the names of God in his excellent article “The Story of His Glory”: “ God’s name is the body of truth about Himself which He has displayed and declared in the long unfolding story of the Bible. The Hebrew people were not only to treasure this story, but they were also to tell it. Unlike the ways of many religions, God’s revelation was never to be a secret affair for a few people. Isaiah calls Israel to “make known His deeds amongst the people” so that the nations are steadily reminded that “His name is exalted” (Isa 12:4)…much of the Bible recounts what God has done to make His name great amongst the nations.” God’s name reminds us of who He is, what He has done, and what He will do. The Psalmist prays these names back to God in both exultation and remembrance, and we should do likewise. But more than that, the names of God bring us into close relationship. Prayer brings us into the close relationship with God that Jesus modeled when He prayed &quot; Abba , Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36) And, Paul tells us that “Because (we) are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, &quot; Abba , Father.“ (Galatians 4:6) The Spirit helps us pray!
When you think about the attributes of God, what are some word that come to mind? Again take 2 minute and make a similar list of the attributes of God. The Attributes of God are His revelation to us about his nature and how His nature intersects with our lives The Psalmist prays these descriptions back to God as assurance of the presently unveiled God and His promises. But God is so much more than even what He has revealed to us, even today. (Add scripture).
If you are in relationship with someone, you want them to first know your name, and then you want them to know something about you. God’s names and His attributes are what God has revealed to us for our relationship with Him. But in relationship you also want to be heard and understood. Here are just a few of the instances of the responsive language of the Psalms (review slide) What a way to pray! With a great assurance that God hears, has heard, will listened and has listened. If we had such assurance with regard to our prayers, how do you think that would affect our praying? Would prayer become a much larger part of our ordinary life, like it was for David? (Responsive) You can see in these verses a personal God, one with whom you and I can have a relationship. The Psalmist isn’t praying to some deistic God who is distant and uninvolved. AW Tozer in his book The Pursuit of God writes: “To most people God is an inference, not a reality. He is a deduction from evidence which they consider adequate; but He remains personally unknown to the individual. `He must be,' they say, `therefore we believe He is.' Others do not go even so far as this; they know of Him only by hearsay. They have never bothered to think the matter out for themselves, but have heard about Him from others, and have put belief in Him into the back of their minds along with the various odds and ends that make up their total creed. To many others God is but an ideal, another name for goodness, or beauty, or truth; or He is law, or life, or the creative impulse back of the phenomena of existence. These notions about God are many and varied, but they who hold them have one thing in common: they do not know God in personal experience. The possibility of intimate acquaintance with Him has not entered their minds. While admitting His existence they do not think of Him as knowable in the sense that we know things or people. Christians, to be sure, go further than this, at least in theory. Their creed requires them to believe in the personality of God, and they have been taught to pray, `Our Father, which art in heaven.' Now personality and fatherhood carry with them the idea of the possibility of personal acquaintance. This is admitted, I say, in theory, but for millions of Christians, nevertheless, God is no more real than He is to the non-Christian. They go through life trying to love an ideal and be loyal to a mere principle. Over against all this cloudy vagueness stands the clear scriptural doctrine that God can be known in personal experience. A loving Personality dominates the Bible, walking among the trees of the garden and breathing fragrance over every scene. Always a living Person is present, speaking, pleading, loving, working, and manifesting Himself whenever and wherever His people have the receptivity necessary to receive the manifestation.” The Psalmist would add God is hearing and listening.
&quot;The Psalms teach us to pray through imitation and response ...Real prayer is always an answer to God's revelation. The Psalms are BOTH prayer and revelations about God the ideal soil for learning prayer. The Psalms take us deep into our own hearts 1000 times faster than we would ever go if left to ourselves...Religious/moral people tend to want to deny the rawness and reality of their own feelings, especially the darkness of them...The secular world has almost made an idol of emotional self-expression...But the Psalmists neither 'stuff' their feelings nor 'ventilates' them. They pray them–they take them into the presence of God until they change or understand them. Most importantly, the Psalms force us to deal with God as He is, not as we wish he was. “Left to ourselves, we will pray to some god who speaks what we like hearing, or to the part of God we manage to understand. But what is critical is that we speak to the God who speaks to us, and to everything He speaks to us...the Psalms train us in that conversation.&quot; (quote from Eugene Peterson's Answering God)' &quot;
Jonathan Edwards, the American Revivalist had this to say about the Psalms: &quot;The main subjects of these songs were the glorious things of the Gospel, as is evident by the interpretation that is often put upon them, and the use that is made of them, in the New Testament. For, there is no one book of the Old Testament that is so often quoted in the New as the Book of Psalms. Here Christ is spoken of in multitudes of songs.&quot; Dietrich Bonheoffer said: “The Psalter is the prayer book of Jesus Christ in the truest sense of the word. He prayed the Psalter and now it has become his prayer for all time. Now do we understand how the Psalter can be prayer to God and yet God's own Word, precisely because here we encounter the praying Christ?” Another commentator said: “Christ is fully presented in the Psalms, as well as His work. Indeed, it has been asserted, and not without reason, that out of the Psalms one could compile a biography of Jesus.” Well let’s do just that. (review slide)
End: With the benefit of the lens of history and the Scriptures we can see clearly this biography of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Psalmist was inspired by the Spirit to pray
I promised Bruce and Chris Bradford that I would keep the focus on Missional Prayer in our study. We need to understand, as we see the unfolding story of God’s glory, that our great God has always been on a mission. That mission is to restore communion and communication with Himself. In the Psalms we see this mission expressed through God’s heart for the nations. We see the condition of the nations, the Lord’s response to the nation, the outcome of the His response, and His people’s praise. (review slide) If the conditions of the nations, including many of God’s people is so distant from His “good, pleasing and perfect” will. What can be done? We can pray!
What exactly is “revival”? Well first, the Bible doesn’t actually use the word though there are certainly examples of prayers with the idea of revival throughout Scripture. What the Bible does use is the word “revive” which is the Hebrew word “Khaya” meaning “to live, have life, remain alive, sustain life, live prosperously, live for ever, be quickened, be alive, be restored to life or health.” In the Greek the word is “anazao;” meaning “live again, recover life, to be restored to a correct life, of one who returns to a better moral state, to revive, regain strength and vigor.” And, as Christians isn’t that what we should desire? Someone once asked the great evangelist Billy Sunday, “Why do you keep having revivals?” Billy Sunday asked a question right back, “Why do you keep taking baths?” Praying for revival is all about cleansing, restoration, regaining strength and vigor. The vitality of life God desires for us! One commenator defines Revival “as is an invasion from heaven that brings a conscious awareness of God.” Another as; “Revival is the church falling in love with Jesus all over again.” J. Edwin Orr, a renowned professor of revival history taught that no revival in history began without united concerted prayer. Orr also had this to say in an article entitled “Preparing the Ground for Revival”: “The present obvious dearth of revival is largely due to the fact that the majority of Christians are out of touch with the source of Divine power.” Sounds like a lot of prayerlessness, wouldn’t you say? The message is clear --- we as individual Christians and churches need to set aside time to simply focus on our life in Jesus Christ. Revival is a restoration of the communion and communication, the right fellowship, we should have with God, that we know the Lord desires for us. It is apprehending God’s presence, to live in His power, for the progress of our lives in Christ. Psalm 85 can teach us much about how to pray for personal and corporate revival. (Review slide) (Go to handout for Psalm 85).

The Spirit Helps Us Pray Lesson 5

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Tendances

Tendances (20)

Similaire à The Spirit Helps Us Pray Lesson 5

Similaire à The Spirit Helps Us Pray Lesson 5 (20)

Plus de Christ for All Peoples

Plus de Christ for All Peoples (14)

The Spirit Helps Us Pray Lesson 5

Notes de l'éditeur